Quick Holiday Recap

Originally we were set to leave for Kansas early Saturday morning. On Wednesday or so I talked to my step-mom and she suggested leaving after Jer (husband) got off work on Friday and driving partially through the night so that kids would sleep. Jer thought this was a great idea because then he could be in Kansas in time to go hunting on Saturday morning. He thought the whole stopping to sleep thing was way overrated and was sure we could drive the whole twelve hours in one go. I told him several times that one hits a wall at some point during the night (I almost always hit mine around 2am) when it's almost impossible to fight the drowsiness no matter how much caffeine you have. This wall is a huge problem on our drive northward because for the last 4 hours or so of the trip there are very few towns and even fewer places to stop to sleep. I also realized that if we drove all night both of us would have to stay awake in order to make sure the driver did not drowse. We would both, then, be really wanting a nap the next day. Jer assured me that he would not take a nap and leave me to watch the kids.

So we drove all night. Around 1am I started pointed out all the cheap hotels. We hit the last town with lodging around 4. We only had about 2 hours left when Jer got sleepy and needed me to take over. It was very dark; we were in the middle of nowhere; we had already had one very close call with a deer (slamming on brakes and honking); we were on a not-so-nice stretch of teeny tiny highway ( you have to zoom in a loooong way on google for this particular road to even show up); and there were millions of small animal or deer shaped tumbleweeds blowing across the road. Not my favorite. But we made it safely to the small town cafe in time for breakfast and we managed to visit all 3 sets of grandparents that lived in the area that day. And Jer got in a good two hour nap that afternoon while I watched the kids and visited with my mother-in-law.....

The rest of the trip was pretty good. We stayed busy - two nights with Jer's mom, one night with my mom, up north two hours to my grandma's for two nights, back to Jer's mom's for a few more... Jer went hunting every morning and got in lots of good male bonding time with his Dad and Cousins. We had a great snow up at my grandma's house and the girls got to go sledding behind the golf cart one afternoon. The other highlight of the trip for them was playing with and riding Grandma Carole's miniature horses. She has small saddles for the horses and the girls rode them for awhile and then decided it would be more fun to lead them around. I think they led the horses around for over an hour. Which was amazing because it was COLD!!!! So cold. Every time we had to go out in it B. would cry about the cold. Both big girls were in hysterics every time we turned the heater on full blast...cause they thought we were running the A/C...they don't have any memories of heater use in the car, I guess.

When we left our house, the temp was around 72 degrees. When we arrived in Kansas, it was 15 degrees. The temperature did not get above 30 degrees until Wednesday. And the wind chills were in the negatives... I was amazed at how cold it was - I had forgotten. Part of me misses the chill. But I do not miss trying to load and unload into car seats children who are bundled. I told Jer that I do want to move back north someday...but not until the kids are out of car seats or maybe college.

The girls' fear of dogs did cause a lot of drama over the week. Several times we were pretty embarrassed by their shrieks of terror when little dogs came running up to greet them. I understood the fear when my mom's giant Great Pyrenees came up for a sniff...but Corgis?? The girls did do better with the dogs once they and the dogs and calmed down. The girls loved my mom's yellow lab and even got used to the Pyrenees. They insisted that Grandma Lisa leave her yellow lab gated though - probably because he was more interested in getting the girls to pat him than was Kelly (mom's dog).

Baby J. loved chasing around my mom's cats and loved to look at all the dogs and other animals (mom has goats, mules, chickens etc). She did not like the geese because they were too loud. She had fun playing with Cousin Brody but didn't want to share toys. I guess she has learned to defend herself from her toy snatching sisters. Even so, she rarely gets to play with any of her new toys without a lot of help. She started standing unaided the week before Christmas and her Daddy has been trying to get her to take steps ever since. I think she took 3 in a row once but has totally lost interest in trying since we got back to our house.

Our trip was cut a day short because B. started throwing up in the middle of the night on Friday. Jer went hunting one more time Saturday morning and then we took off. B. had been unable to keep anything down (even water) and threw up an hour or so before we left. But we still managed to make it all the way home without any accidents. As soon as I was done cleaning up her original mess, I started praying that we would be able to at least get home before the sickness hit the rest of us (we knew it wasn't food poisoning because we had been around sick people). We had one day of rest on Sunday before Jer got the ick on Monday and I got it Wednesday. Luckily, the grown up form didn't involve throwing up.

We had our own little family Christmas on Thursday and I made my first turkey. B. kept asking me if 'that big chicken was cooked yet'.

All in all I think this holiday was a success. Jer decided we should maybe go up to visit the grandparents once every six months - seeing everyone more often might cut back on the rush during our visits. We discovered a magic way to make the kids behave in the car...DVD player - the kind with 2 screens so they can each hold one in their lap!

We have lots of hopes for 2009...but we'll have to see what God has in store for us!

ps Jer decided we should maybe go up to visit the grandparents once every six months - seeing everyone more often might cut back on the rush during our visits (I am very grateful for this decision and in full agreement!).

pps We discovered a magic way to make the kids behave in the car...DVD player - the kind with 2 screens so they can each hold one in their lap!

Texas Snow and Santa

Today we had little bit of rare southern Texas snow!!! But, unfortunately, it wasn't coming down hard enough for the girls to be able to see it. I called their Daddy to tell him I could see the snow bouncing (ok, it may have been tiny ice pellets, but snow is more exciting) off the neighbor's roof. When the girls heard me say snow, they went running to look out the windows - then decided Mama was crazy and went back to playing.
On Monday night I was doing the dishes and heard little bits of sirens. Last year around this time I heard what sounded like a full fleet of emergency vehicles heading for our neighborhood and thought that the end of the world had officially started (I had recently seen 'I AM LEGEND' and was totally paranoid). Needless to say, I was a bit surprised, last year, when Santa rode by on top of a fire engine surrounded by a few cop cars and ambulances - all sirening in full volume. I must not have been the only one freaking out because this year the whole affair was much quieter - they periodically 'booped' the sirens and that was it. Since they took a different route around the neighborhood the girls had lots of time to stand outside and shiver waiting for Santa. They were very excited when he finally came by - and even more excited when the vehicle behind him pelted us with candy. My husband thinks this is a cool way for the Emergency Service folks to make their presence felt while spreading holiday cheer. I think this ranks pretty high on my list of strange Texas traditions. *Baby J did not enjoy Santa's loud, bright, flashing ride.
And, yet again, the girls have sensed my weakness. I just looked around and noticed that Baby J. is in her play pen. I did not put her in her playpen and, while she is pretty good at getting around, I know she did not climb in. B. informed me that she put her sister in there because B. didn't want sister to 'bother us.' I have no idea how the girls got J. in there without making any noise! They must have been pretty smooth about it or J. would have been screaming.



Here's a pic of Baby J. with Santa:

The girls opted out when given the chance to sit on his lap. A. said she just wanted to watch. B. said she'd do it another day.

(It's black and white because Bass Pro wants me to by more copies of it from them)

All I Want for Christmas....

Lately there's been a small nagging desire in the back of my mind. Every few days it hits full force and makes me want to go do something drastic. Today was one of those days. I came home from a day of Baby-showering and my husband was perusing the Doggie Rescue sites again. I found the perfect min pin./beagle cross. A few weeks ago I found the perfect basset hound/beagle mix.

I want a dog!!!!! I don't know why! It makes no sense - I have plenty of little beings to care for already. I don't need another responsibility, another nose in my face. But the desire will not go away. Up until college I always had a least one pet (usually quite a few more)but, for awhile, with the insaneness of twin little ones, I didn't miss it. I was happy to have no pet shed to vacuum and enjoyed being able to leave food out on the counter or table without worrying that someone would jump up and eat it. But it's been over two years since we've had a furry pet, and I'm really starting to miss having a furry friend or two around.

We've decided (I think) to wait to get a pet until we buy a house (hopefully after Christmas sometime), but the desire keeps growing. And we've recently realized that my children need to have a pet. The big girls are terrified of dogs - and I'm really not cool with that. I want my kids to love animals, and it makes me very sad that they can't enjoy them. They didn't use to have that fear - they used to LOVE all animals and only wanted to read books or watch movies that had animals in them. So, again I have guilt about moving them to the city.

Well I was hoping that writing about pets would make me realize that I really don't need one right now...and maybe it worked a bit....for a day or two. But Pixie the Min. Pin/beagle cross was so cute...and close by....


****Baby J. stood without support for a few seconds!!! Daddy is taking her walking every day to help her get the idea :) The girls have sounded out 3 words and we're only on lesson 12 of 100!! We're working on getting a better routine for lessons.

Music Time!!

Last night I found an old Canadian Brass CD and put it on while doing dishes. It made me all nostalgic for my Brass Quintet days in HS, so I decided to dig the French horn out of the closet and see if I could get it working (last time I fiddled with it I discovered that the first valve was frozen). Thanks to my AMAZING and very handy husband, the valve not only came unstuck, but it works perfectly!!!

It was very entertaining watching the girls and the husband take turns making 'tooting' noises on the horn while everyone else giggled. They were almost falling down with laughter when I played a few low notes that really sounded gassy :) Both of the girls can get a pretty decent sound out of the horn, and I'm getting all antsy wondering if they are old enough to start learning how to play correctly. I really would like to get them started on piano first and also am not sure how well lessons would go if we have to share on instrument between teacher and students.

After husband got tired of 'toots' I tried to play a little and B. was trying to point to the notes for me and turn pages for me. Very cute even though it makes it very difficult to play even a short segment all the way through :)

I decided to try and start getting my 'chops' back (see me pretending to be all music-y like I know what I'm talking about!), so today I played a bit more. At first the girls stood and stared because I told them they had to wait until I was finished for their turn. Then they went and got books to hit together like cymbals - or like they called them "those hitty things off of Spongebob." After the books they tried some of their dishes from their play kitchen. They seem to have a bit of rhythm...although it wasn't necessarily at the tempo I needed :)

Baby J. enjoyed all the horn playing too. Last night she was sticking her face in the bell and smacking the bell. Today she played with the case, tried to play with the music folder, and danced along with the music a few times.

I forgot....

...to record a MAJOR milestone! The girls (size 4T girls) have finally figured out how to totally strap themselves into their car seats! After 4 years of heaving car seats and kids into seats and standing on tiptoe to buckle - I'm finally done!!! No more walking to both sides of the car for buckle up - or my favorite - hopping out and walking to the passenger side only to realize I have forgotten to hit the unlock button again....after awhile it starts to look like I'm playing some sort of exercise intensive game of peekaboo with my kids.

This is one milestone that does not seem bitter sweet AT ALL! Car seats are a huge (although essential) hassle. They make me claustrophobic just thinking about being strapped in like that. But except for the occasional twisted strap, I don't have to mess with them anymore! Woohoo!

Today I officially started the holiday season - in my mind - by having my first Cranberry Splash Sierra Mist of the year :) MMmmmm...now if I could just find that dad-gum peppermint bark ice cream....

I thought we were all done being sick (except for the one time in the middle of each night that I have to run to the living room and hack up a lung), but then last night Baby J. started sounding all asthmatic. She now has a bit of a fever and the same icky cough her sisters had. I just can't figure out why she decided to wait a full week after they were sick to display the symptoms. The poor thing is very pathetic and makes my heart break with her misery. I hope she feels much better tomorrow.

I'm feeling very on top of things this Christmas because 'Santa' purchased one of the girls' main gifts before December!!! Yay Santa!

Rainy Day

I'm going to start with things I am thankful for: 1)it's finally raining - I thought, when we originally moved here from the drought of SW Kansas, that it would rain at least a few times a week - but that hasn't been the case, and I've been feeling a bit parched. 2)Baby J. is napping and has been in a pretty good mood lately. She's also been being very cute - as usual. 3) Husband/Daddy says he's coming home at 6 instead of 'late'. 4) For the last 10 minutes or so the big girls have been playing nicely with each other without any destruction of property or excess noise.

As I mentioned in a previous post, I am sick. I think I was at my sickest on Thursday and the girls' Daddy had to work late that night - he got home around 11:30 PM. He also worked late Friday and then worked part of the day Saturday. So, I have been home alone for extended amounts of time with children that are getting very tired of being cooped up at home with a sick Mom. I got a nice 2 hour reprieve yesterday while the big girls and Daddy went to church. I feel very much like the weak animal in a herd that all the other animals are picking on. The girls sort of snicker when I attempt to yell (I'm very hoarse and it only gets worse when I try to raise my voice at all) or discipline, and they definitely seem to be going throw a 'naughty' spell that I suspect is directly related to Mama being sick and slow moving.

Last week A. locked herself in the bathroom while 'poopin' and had to get her unwiped self off the potty to come unlock the door so I could clean her up. Today, I went to use the bathroom (and had to go pretty bad because I had been putting off going while I switched the laundry, put the baby down for her nap etc) and found the door locked. I guess I should have expected it - but since the girls just figured out that it could be locked a few days ago I hadn't yet processed the possibility of a total lockout (might have to do with all the goo in my head). A sort of grumpy husband asked me if I really wanted him to come all the way home just to open the bathroom door. A very grumpy, and now dancing the peepee dance Mama told him that I wasn't about to 'go' out in the rain behind the tree. He told me to take off the doorknob, which I did manage - but I was still unable to get the lock mechanism out. Twenty minutes later he was home and popped the door open in less than 5 seconds, because I, of course, had loosened it up for him.

Baby J. is now starting to dance a bit and she loves the intro credits to the 'George Lopez Show' . She also has a very funny way of 'crawling with purpose' - she goes very quickly and looks very determined - usually when the girls and Daddy have gone off to another room without her.

**And now they are back to running in circles and screaming...maybe it's time to go play in the rain.

Day 3

Twins are feeling better (and are back to their normal wild selves...with just a hit of raspy-ness).

Baby J. tossed and turned and fussed all night. She's all stuffed up and about every 15 to 30 minutes she sneezes body length ropes of snot (only a slight exaggeration). So, every 15 to 30 minutes I have to jump to wipe the mess even though I feel like my head weighs about double and my body thinks we need to be having a slow-mo day. I wasn't planning on a doctor visit since nothing seems too serious - but Baby J.'s snot is not translucent anymore...so I'm watching it. It's showing up green on her clothes but doesn't look green when fresh.
I suppose all this talking of snot is a bit off putting, but it's the reality. I really don't mind the goo, I just mind the having to get up to wipe it.

I don't know what the girls have/had, but I have it and also what feels to be a sinus infection. I've never been diagnosed with a sinus infection - so I'm only guessing that this is what one feels like.

The weather is cooperating nicely and looking all rainy - so the girls can blame something besides me and Baby J. for their not getting to go to the park today!

Sick. Sorta.

It has finally hit. The first round of ickness for the fall. So far, not too bad. It's started slow - B. had a nasty cough just in the mornings. Then I started having 'drippage' in the mornings. Now we all sound raspy and feel run down. There's not much goo (except for Baby J. who has nasal goo as her only symptom).

Since this bug has not manifested itself into something with a concrete name like cold (head, chest or otherwise), or strep throat, etc, I'm resorting to the basic rest and fluids for a cure. Cold medicines are out for kids under 6 so there's not much in the providing relief of symptoms department. I do have some cough medicine for better snoozing at night (I don't know if this is on the banned list but it has dosage for 2 and up and is only half a teaspoon a day - and since the ban on cold medicines is due mainly to fear of overdose outweighing any possible benefit, I think it's ok).

It's been interesting to see how sickness affects the moods of each of my girls. It makes almost all of us more irritable, of course, but Baby J. actually seems to be in a better mood than normal. Perhaps she's enjoying the dripping from her nose?? She has been much more vocal the last two days and has also entertained herself more. B. has her feelings hurt much easier and expects all of us to baby her - including A. A. is probably the least sick of all of us - or at least lets it affect her the least. She seems to be as active and energetic as usual and bounces back and forth between baby-ing B. and tormenting her. I only know she's sick because of the occasional cough and the fact that I can hear her breathing.

Last night my efforts to keep them calm and resting all day were totally nullified by the fact that they had a 15 minute around the living room race which included jumping off the furniture and spinning in circles. They both sounded asthmatic as they ran and then A. was practically in tears about how 'hot' she was. We've been discussing lately how lots of 'wildness' makes for a hot girly.

My plea to the husband for another round of happy hour drinks from Sonic for this afternoon fell on too practical ears....I told him I need to push fluids for all of us and that the girls already had their daily allotment of apple juice (any more and they will have runny poo). I can't get them to drink much water ever. So, I thought pink drinks would help with the fluids intake, but....*sigh* I just got told that we have gross-o flavor Gatorade mix in the truck :(

But! on a positive note - it could be lots worse AND I'm off to go feed my cold (or whatever it is)! Yay for an excuse to put off the diet and exercise!

PS Forgot to mention that the husband, so far, has dodged the sickness bullet and is feeling fine. Woo! Very important to have a healthy bread winner :)